Katniss Everdeen and the Huntresses of Artemis
by InfinityMinus42
Summary: On the morning of her sister's first reaping, Artemis invites Katniss to join the Huntresses and alters the course of the rebellion and history itself.  Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

_Sorry I had to abbreviate please to plz, but I was running out of characters._

_Also, the Hunters of Artemis are not the same as they were in PJO. Assume they all quit and were replaced._

**Chapter One**

Katniss Everdeen awoke to a noise in the corner of the room. Was it her sister, Prim? She turned in the direction she had heard to noise from, and was surprised to find several young women.

She did a double take. There were about a dozen of them. They all carried bows and arrows. One of them stepped forward, and Katniss assumed ahe was the leader.

"Am I dreaming?" Katniss asked out loud.

The young woman smiled at this. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes. She looked older than the other girls.

"Hello, Katniss."

"Um… Hi."

"We are the Huntresses."

"Why are you here?"

"Recently, one of our best has been caught flirting with a boy."

At this, the group groaned as if their leader had said that one of their best had been caught eating cow poop.

"This has been happening way too often lately. We are having trouble finding suitable replacements. Archery, unfortunately, is becoming a thing of the past, along with our dear Camp Half-Blood."

By that point, Katniss pretty much accepted that she was dreaming. She decided to go with the flow.

"What is Camp Half-Blood?" she asked.

"A summer camp for demigods."

Katniss had heard the words 'summer' and 'camp', but never like that. And she most certainly had never heard the word demigods. Usually, she only used the word god in its singular form, but she knew ancient people believed in many gods.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Artemis."

"Artemis?" It sounded vaguely familiar.

"Goddess of hunting and young girls. These are the Huntresses, as I have mentioned."

"What do you want to do? Why do you need me?"

"You are a huntress, are you not?"

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a huntress, exactly. My family needs food, and I supply it."

"Would you like to join us in the hunt?"

"Of course not. I have a family to take care of. I also have a reaping to attend."

"Katniss, there is something you need to know about today. Don't ask me how I know, but if you attend that reaping today, you will be a tribute tomorrow."

"Is that a threat? Or can you guys predict the future as well as invade people privacy?"

"How dare you call us guys!" shouted one of the huntresses.

"Katniss," said Artemis. "Let us show you what we are talking about."

The Huntresses suddenly disappeared, as quickly as they had appeared. This time, they took Katniss with them.

As she looked around, she found herself on a capitol street block. Not far ahead was the president's mansion. The Huntresses began to walk toward it, giving Katniss no choice but to follow them.

When they arrived at the front gate, a tall, muscled Peacekeeper came to greet them.

"Capitol, district, or demigod?"

"Demigod."

"ID?"

Artemis showed a small, silver square that looked like a credit card. The man swiped it through a machine, which beeped.

"Come," he said, and they followed him into the building.

He showed them an empty wall. Artemis waved her card in front of it, and it became a large door. It opened, and the Huntresses walked in, followed by a very confused Katniss.

The small, blocky room they entered appeared to be an elevator. However, it had only one button. That button was UP. Artemis pressed it, and Katniss immediately felt a jolt as they started the journey skyward. Katniss realized she had a brief window of time, so she opened her mouth to protest when suddenly, the doors opened.

Every thought in Katniss's head was replaced by: _Wow. _She knew it wasn't a dream because her subconscious did not have the imagination. Mankind did not have the imagination to even begin to imagine a place like this.

"It's not as grand as it used to be," said Artemis. "The minor gods have all moved to the Capitol, and the nymphs have tried to salvage what is left of the wilderness that humans did not already destroy. But the Olympians remained, as they always will."

Katniss was at a loss for words. This place made the Capitol look like District 12. It made District 12 look like- well, you really can't go lower than district 12, so it made district 12 look like district 12. But more so.

Yet it was not man-made. It was not shiny in a technological way, it was not the future, nor was it the past. It was nature, with tall trees and beautiful, bubbling creeks. It teemed with life, not of it supernatural, but all of it immortal. The immortal goldfish didn't even poop. Katniss didn't know this, of course. But to anybody who has ever owned a goldfish, the worst thing a goldfish can do is poop or die. These goldfish did neither.

"Imagine this, Katniss. This place is beautiful and amazing, but it also has a dark, sinister side. Imagine a resident of this place, a god. Imagine a creature that is all-powerful over the humans, yet they still breed with them. Two species that should never have been together. The child of this was called a demigod, and it used to be common practice. Now imagine a place where they are all corralled in, to train and become heroes. Imagine a hero, Katniss. Imagine a heroine. These heroes and heroines fates became intertwined with the gods, and the gods grew rather attached to their demigods, and mankind."

"Is that what a demigod is? An angel?"

Artemis smiled. "An angel? No. Far from it. Humanity seems to be the dominant gene, especially since all of today's human are at least 25% god."

"How?"

"The gods care. When humanity was dying, they helped out. Almost every newborn child was a demigod, or a child of one and the parent of another. Nowadays, 'demigod' is just a catch-all term for any godhuman things."

"I'm a demigod?"

"Yes. You've got a lot of me in you, but I see you have seem Zeus and Apollo too. Definitely no Aphrodite."

"How did you know I was going to be a tribute?"

"We used to have an oracle, but she died. That energy got passed on to my huntresses, but there are no prophecies anymore. Just the occasional vision. It' s a lot different, and we need exactly the right number of huntresses to manage it. Even with one less girl, it's already becoming harder."

"So, you want me to join your group?"

"That's right, Katniss. Either way, you abandon your family, tribute or huntress. At least this way they will know that you lived."

Katniss thought about it.

"So what do you say?" asked Artemis.

Peeta Mellark sat straight up in his bed. Today was the day of the reaping. An image flashed in front of his eyes. A gold pin. He took out a piece of paper and started to write.

When his father woke up, he found Peeta sound asleep in his bed, next to a drawing of a girl with long brown hair.

Plutarch Heavensbee had had some doubts recently about his position as head Gamemaker. More than doubts, in fact. Plutarch had had a full on revelation.

His phone rang. A woman's voice was barely audible through the static.

"Hello, Plutarch," she said. "Let's talk about you joining the rebellion."

It was the morning of the reaping, and Haymitch was drunk, as usual. It was all Effie could do to drag him out of bed.

"Come on, Haymitch," she said in a thick capitol accident. "We could really win this year."

"I think she'll do well this year, Effie," he said in a surprisingly sober voice.

"Who?" asked Effie?

"The girl who was on fire."

Primrose Everdeen was having a dream. She was being chased by a monster with a stick. Suddenly it evaporated, and Prim woke up. But not before she heard a voice.

"Primrose Everdeen!" It was as clear as day. Despite the apparent cheeriness, this was a voice of death.

"Mom?"

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, I think so. It was just a nightmare."

"Feel better, honey."

"I will."

_And may the odds be ever in my favor, _thought Prim.

"What do you say, Katniss?" repeated Artemis.

"Okay. I'll join."

And the course of history was changed.

Just like that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

He had almost forgotten that it was his birthday today.

He had told his friends that he was turning eighteen. They believed him. The citizens of the capitol were so stupid. He definitely preferred District 4. He used to like District 13, but that was before it was demolished.

How old was he today? 273? 274? He would need to check his journal. This one was starting to yellow, too. He made a mental note to buy a new one.

His room in the Capitol was extravagant. A large bed, an expensive computer, posters on the wall. It made him angry when he remembered the one he had in District 12. Ah. District 12. Now there was something to be remembered. That was the longest he had ever lived in one place. But the coal mine he had been working on exploded, and everybody was killed. Except him, of course. He had raised some eyebrows when had walked from the flames completely unharmed.

He even remembered the days before the Capitol. He hadn't lived through much of it, considering they had taken over when he was just 25, but he had lived through some. He remembered the people. They just wanted to save the human race, he knew. He even remembered his mother. Almost.

That was long past.

His family would be waking up soon, he thought. He remembered that there was a reaping today. There had been 73 hunger games, and he always attended the reapings. In his 274 years, he had gone to 8 hunger games. Of course, he had won all of them. Nobody seemed to notice that it was the same victor. It wold be so easy to connect the dots, considering that every one of them had died a week after winning. He hated faking his death, but it had to be done.

He fingered the vile of golden blood around his neck. It was only half-full. He had used the othere half as ink for a small tattoo on his wrist. It said: ∞. That pretty much summed up his entire existence.

He would die someday, of course. There wasn't a doubt in his mind about that. If you don't believe you will someday die, what's the point of living?

He couldn't stay for much longer. He packed up his possessions. He had many, but he only brought the ones that would last 20 years, at least. They all wore out, after a while. The stuff. The people. Panem. Life.

He slipped out the door. It was too early for anybody to notice he had gone.

Primrose Everdeen woke up looking for her mother. She heard her breathing next to her, and relaxed. Then she scanned the room for her sister, and she almost had a heart attack.

She was gone.

Relax, she told herself. She's probably just out hunting.

That was not the case. Prim and her mother searched the house top to bottom. Katniss was nowhere to be found. The had to go to the reaping without her.

Prim was so upset, she barely heard the words being spoken. Barely heard her name being called.

Gale Hawthorne was also looking for Katniss. He didn't see her anywhere. But he had assumed she was there, and assumed she would volunteer when Prim's name was called.

"Primrose Everdeen," repeated Effie. Prim timidly started to walk to the stage.

"Wait! I volunteer!"

Gale turned at the sound of the voice, but even as he did, he knew it was not the voice of Katniss. This was not the voice of a sister in hysterics without any other choice. This was not the voice of somebody who had no idea what was ahead of her. This was the voice of a brave girl saving an innocent she barely even knew.

He recognized it before he saw who it was.

It was Madge.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Had Katniss Everdeen known about her sister being reaped, she would have been very, very, very angry. However, the immortal huntresses were among the only ones not forced to wath the reaping and the Hunger Games.

Katniss was informed that she was their only addition in at least 75 years. It sounded like a long time to her, but some of the huntresses were over 500 years old. The oldest, Katia, was in charge when the Lady Artemis was gone.

"She's only ever left us once," she said. For five years, during the time of the rebirth of the human race."

"Did she have children?" asked Katniss.

"She had two. One of them was a girl. Would have been great huntress material, but the whole point was to breed."

"But, don't you swear off men?"

"We do. Artemis says if she ever finds a worthy man, then maybe they can be together. So far, Artemis has had two children."

"None of you have ever had children, right?"

Most of the huntresses would feel a bit nauseous at the mere thought of a child. Katia only said:

"None to speak of. Come meet the Huntresses."

There were 11 Huntresses in all, counting Katniss. Katia was the oldest, and Tara was the youngest (besides Katniss), at 82.

None of the Huntresses were soft-spoken, but the shyest of them was Tricia. The only words she had said so far were:

"It's pronounced, Trik kee ah, not like the end of Patricia."

And none of the Huntresses were really that friendly.

"What do you guys do all the time?" asked Katniss.

"Hunt. When we aren't doing that, we're helping Artemis with whatever she might be doing."

"Oh."

"Katniss, you've heard of the Greeks, right?"

"Um… They were some kind of Ancient civilization, I think."

"What about the Greeks' religion?"

"No."

"Well, they believed in many gods. Gods for the sky, gods for the sea, even gods for wine. They also had some weird, paranormal animals, like satyrs and hydras. When a god has children with a mortal, the result used to be called a demigod."

"But, it's all true, right?"

"The Greeks were not idiots."

"Right."

"Someday, we'll give you a brief history lesson on gods and heroes."

"I will not look forward to it."

"Me neither."

Katniss was given a bow and arrow. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was a little different from what she was used to. She was also given some clothes, because she was still wearing what she had slept in.

The huntresses moved around a lot. It was hard to be in one place too long, because of the Hunger Games. There was always the danger of one of them getting reaped.

Many of the Huntresses had sad stories. There was one girl, Angeles, whose parents both died in a fire when she was ten. She was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, and she ran away at the age of fourteen. That's when she met Artemis and became a huntress. That was before the reign of the Capitol, of course. Everybody agreed that things were better back then.

One Week Earlier

Peeta Mellark woke up to a knock at the door.

He slipped out of bed and opened it up. A blonde girl in an orange tee shirt came in. The shirt had type on it, but for some reason Peeta couldn't read it. The letters just seemed to float away. The girl was carrying a small dagger in one hand, and a Yankees baseball cap in the other. The baseball cap was soaking wet.

The girl was breathing hard. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"They're coming, Percy," she said franticly. "They've found me."

"Who are you?" demanded Peeta. "My name isn't Percy."

"Percy Jackson," she said. "You look different. Did you cut your hair?"

A tall man burst into the room. He was thin and light-skinned. He had piercing green eyes.

The man pulled out a small, sticklike object. Peeta realized it was a ballpoint pen. He uncapped it, and it turned into a long sword made of a bronze-colored metal.

He took the sword and jammed it into the girl's side. Her orange tee shirt was stained red.

"Annabeth!" screamed Peeta, not quite knowing how he knew her name. He ran towards her, but a split second before he got there, she put on the Yankees baseball cap. And then she disappeared.

Peeta heard a clap of thunder and ran outside.

He was standing in a grassy meadow. It started to rain, and the meadow was struck by lightning. It started to burn…

But the water drowned the flames out, the water drowned everything and he tried to swim towards the surface. Peeta started to drown, but then he reaized he could breathe. In fact, he was perfectly dry. He turned around and walked back home, got back in bed, and went to sleep.

When he woke up, his first thought was, _Annabeth!_ His second thought was the realization that he had had a nightmare. He had been having nightmares like these a lot recently, always featuring the same girl and a lot of water. In his dreams, his name was Percy. They scared him a lot. He wondered what could be causing them.

His final thought on the subject before he dragged himself out of bed was, _who the heck are the Yankees?_

_ Well, there you have it! Chapter Three!_

_ Is the Annabeth gets stabbed bit too violent? Cuz', I can take it out._

_ PLEEEEEEEEEASE review. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Many years ago, a young boy named Percy Jackson found out that he was the son of Poseidon and was destined to save the world. After he did this, he marries his girlfriend, Annabeth, a daughter or Athena and a talented architect. They lived in a small, beautiful cottage by the sea. Annabeth designed her architecture from there, and Percy worked as a trainer of young heroes. One day, Annabeth became pregnant. Nine months later, she gave birth to their daughter, Alexandra, in the city of Los Angeles.

Alexandra grew to be a bright and inquisitive young girl. Annabeth read to her every night, and then taught her how to read when she was old enough. For her seventh birthday, Percy bought her a horse. She named it Bridget. She took swim lessons, and was also a fantastic artist. Often, she would hang out in their huge library and draw pictures of the sea.

It was going fantastically for Percy, Annabeth, and Alexandra, until one day, Zeus and Poseidon had a big fight. There was a demigod, and they both claimed it to be theirs. Eventually, Zeus got so mad that he struck Percy and Annabeth's cottage with lightning. It caught fire, and burned to the ground. Both Percy and Annabeth died. Athena was, of course, very mad. Zeus had killed her beloved daughter and orphaned her granddaughter.

Percy and Annabeth were sent to Elysium, but they did not enjoy it. They were overcome with grief, even though they were the ones who had died.

"You have two options," they were told. "You can stay here, in Elysium, or you can be reborn."

"Can we wait for our daughter," asked Annabeth, "And then be reborn?"

"I guess that's ok."

So Percy and Annabeth waited. They waited fifty, a hundred, a hundred and twenty years. Finally Annabeth said:

"We're going to have to face the facts, Percy. Alexandra did not make it to Elysium."

Of course, this was not true at all. Alexandra had run away and changed her name to Sally Angeles, after her mother and birthplace. She was planning to go to Camp Half-Blood when she was stopped by a group of girls that looked very, very good for their age. They called her by her made-up last name, Angeles, but she asked them to call her Angel.

Athena and Poseidon were so mad at Zeus that they went to war with him. The war eventually ended their humans' world, and the gods desperately tried to save it by breeding with the humans. It worked, but the world had been divided into 13 Districts and an evil Capitol. Nothing would ever be the same. Percy Jackson reborn eventually gave his life to save a child, and thus, made Elysium a second time. He realized all over again that he had lost his daughter forever, and was reborn again.

The sad story of Sally Angeles is only one of the many that the Huntresses told Katniss. Of course, Katniss only knew the story from Angel's point of view.

There is also a story that was not told to Katniss. Only one of the Huntresses knew it, because it was her own.

In the five years that Artemis left, Katia also disappeared off the face of the Earth, but only for nine months. You may realize that this is the approximate amount of time between the conception and the birth of a child. If you thought this, you are right. Katia did have a child. The child was an immortal, because Katia was immortal and the father was some minor god. Katia had given up he baby to a family who needed one. She hadn't seen him since.

Katia's child aged to about seventeen, and then stopped. When he realized that he was immortal, he decided to run away. On his way out, he had found a small, wooden box containing a vile of golden blood. It was the blood of the gods, but he didn't know that. He wore it on a string around his neck. Also in the box was a small note written in ancient Greek. He couldn't read it, so he threw it away.

He has gone by many names, but is yet to have a permanent one that we will refer to him as. On the Day that Prim was Reaped, he was moving out of the capitol and into somewhere on the outskirts of District four, where he would go by Gabriel.

These are the stories of Katia and Angeles. They both have ties to the that are much too complicated and painful for the age that they both appeared to be. But these are the experiences that make them Huntresses.

A Huntress must be old for their age.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"This is all that is left of the past," said Katia.

Katniss peeked into the box. It didn't look like much. Some old photographs, a diary or two, a lot of objects she didn't recognize.

"All that is left?" she asked. "There are tons of museums in the Capitol."

"Museum of huge monuments and famous people. No, this is the past you could have lived in."

Katniss looked at the pictures. One was of a small girl in a loose fitting shirt with a number on it. She was smiling and holding a round object.

"Basketball," said Katia. She pulled a large orange ball out of the box.

"It's spelled," she explained. "Never loses air." She bounced it up and down a couple of times and put it back in the box.

Katniss opened a diary and started to read it.

_March 5, 2012_

_Today I found out I was a demigod. I am currently at the summer camp known as Camp Half-Blood. Wow, I'm so excited! This is like Harry Potter!_

"Mine," said a young (looking) girl who introduced herself as Annette. "I was a bit of a bubblehead back then. Acted like some kind of Aphrodite kid!"

"Are you?" asked Katniss.

"No!" said Annette. "I'm a daughter of Zeus."

"That's cool," said Katniss.

"In the demigod days it was," said Annette. "It doesn't mean anything now."

"I wish I had been alive back then," said Katniss.

"We miss it too," said Katia. Suddenly she perked her ears up. "You can look through it if you want. I have been summoned." She left the room.

"How did she know that?" asked Katniss.

"Ah, Katniss," said Annette, smiling. "You are asking for the story of the Oracle. You see, at Camp Half Blood, we used to have an oracle named Rachel. She was a good oracle, green fog and rhyming prophecies of impending doom, the whole nine yards. She predicted the end of the world. It was a very blunt prophey. It clearly stated that the world would end and we should get out of Camp Half-Blood as soon as we could."

After that, everybody evacuated and Camp Half-Blood was destroyed. Rachel decided to retire, because she said it was too stressful. So they needed a new oracle. Artemis recommended a huntress."

"Katia?" asked Katniss.

"No, Katniss," said Annette. "All of us. From now on, every huntress has powers of precognition. It is not as good as that of the oracle, but sometimes we can get a green smoke prophecy if we all hold hands in a circle."

"Will I have these powers?" asked Katniss.

"You will. Since the last girl quit, we gave her powers to Katia. I think Katia is enjoying it, but I'm sure Artemis will remember to ask her about it."

At that minute, Katia came in the room looking a little sad.

"All right, Katniss," she said. "Arrtemis has asked me to give you your powers."

Katia sat down and motioned for Katniss to do the same. She closed her eyes and held Katnisses hands. Katniss experienced a strange feeling.

It was warm and fuzzy. _This is nice, _she thought. She closed her eyes and her head flooded with visions of people. People at parties, people ziplining, people winning things.

"Post-cognotion," Annette whispered.

Suddenly the visions changed, and the warm, fuzzy feeling was replacd by something else. A war. People burning, people falling from the sky. Dead people.

"Precognition," said Annette.

It was midnight. There was a knock at the door. Reluctantly, a woman in her forties shuffled out of bed and opened the door.

She was greeted by a young (looking) boy. He couldn't have been over seventeen. *1

"Hey," he said. "Do you know of a place where I can stay the night? I can pay money." This was a good tactic and usually worked.

"You can stay here today," she said. "Until you find a place to stay."

"Thank you." He stepped inside.

"What's your name?"

"You can call me Gabriel."

"All right." She noticed a small tattoo on his left wrist. It looked like a symbol of some kind. Maybe Greek.

"Is that a Greek symbol?" she asked.

"What is Greece?"

"An ancient culture."

"What are some Greek symbols?"

"Oh, you know, Greek letters. Alpha, Omega, sort of thing."

"Ah."

"Here, get some sleep." She let him sleep on the couch.

_I'm going to die, _thought Madge. _Why did I volunteer?_

"Hey," said Peeta. "You scared?"

"Indefinitely," said Madge. "We are riding the train of death."

Peeta picked up a small cracker from one of the snack trays.

"Ah," he said. "But there is good food."

"They're trying to make sure we're too fat to kill anybody."

"Well, that's certainly going to take a lot of work."

Madge stared out the window thoughtfully.

"Can we escape?" she said.

"No," said Peeta.

"Let's commit suicide. It would make a statement."

"You know how the people in the Capitol _make a statement_? They dye their hair. I think we should lean a little more in that direction."

"Poison ourselves," said Madge. "Then, blame it on the Capitol."

"We aren't spearheading a rebellion here," said Peeta. "We're waiting to die."

"And forever wander in the fields of Asphodel?"

"What did you just say?"

"I have absolutely no idea. But what I'm saying is, we should commit suicide."

"How about you commit suicide?"

"How about we kill each other?"

"What?"

"We can fake killing each other. That would make an even bigger statement."

"Look, Madge. The best we can do is die with dignity."

"Or create a path of destruction by killing innocent children."

"We're innocent children."

"Not after we kill innocent children."

"It's self-defense."

"If all twenty-four tributes are acting out of self defense, then who is the offender?"

"The Capitol."

Madge sighed. Die with dignity. Is there such a thing in the Hunger Games?

1* And yet, he was.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

President Coin of the 13th district had a problem. For many years, district 13 had been in hiding. Now it was time for them to seize control. It was, of course, the right thing to do. Under the rule of 13, the districts would live in peace and harmony. At least, a lot more peaceful and harmonious then they were now.

But Coin couldn't take over the Capitol single-handedly. They needed a rebellion. If just one district could have a successful rebellion, the rest would follow suit. But who? Who could lead the districts to rebellion after they had so long been living in fear? Who would inspire light the spark of defiance that would become a bonfire across the 12 districts?

They could start with the Hunger Games. It was broadcast over live TV on all televisions in Panem. If 13 could somehow intercept the signals, or maybe break into the actual arena… and do what? Save all the tributes? Now, there's an idea.

Madge stood in the center of the room naked. It was like a bad dream, only it was the kind you never wake up from. Pretty much described the whole Hunger Games experience. Madge started humming the Sandman. She had never heard the song before, and was not quite sure where the lyrics came from.

After a while, a man waked in the room and introduced himself as Cinna.

"I've got an idea," said Madge. "It's really stylish. How about you paint my nails with poisonous lead?"

Cinna smiled. "And let you wear them into the arena?"

"Oh yes," said Madge. "It could be the next big thing in the Capitol. Never again will the world see another nailbiter."

"And what," asked Cinna," has that got to do with coal?"

"Coal," said Madge. "Is deadly. You can, um, throw it at people. Very effective."

"You can also throw dictionaries at people."

"Yeah, but the shape of the book makes it difficult to achieve the right angle. It flaps all over the place."

"I was thinking we could do kind of a fire thing," said Cinna.

"Fire's not really my element."

"Really? You seemed like a fire girl to me."

"Nah. More of an earth spirit."

"Well, there's really not much you can do with coal."

"Then why is it our districts main export?"

"I mean in fashion design."

"Coal," said Madge, "can do many things. You can draw with it, for example."

"We're going with the fire thing, Madge."

Madge thought about fire. She thought about her Mockingjay pin, in district 12. She had considered taking it with her, but decided against it. She wondered how the two things were connected.

The one who called himself Gabriel woke up before everybody else. He decided to become a fisheran, for the time being. So he went to buy some fishing stuff.

As he walked down the street, he thought he saw a face in one of the windows. When he rubbed his eyes, it was gone.

When he got to the shop, he realized he knew absolutely nothing about fishing. He had been to District 4 before, about 50 years ago, but all his knowledge was either forgotten or outdated.

Maybe I can sell worms, he thought.

So he headed back to the house. He really needed to find a place to stay, because the house he had lodged the night before was clearly a one-time deal. He realized he was heading there and turned around to go somewhere else.

He saw the face in the window again. He could tell it was real. It wasn't a ghost. It was an old lady.

He went to the door of the house and knocked. The same old lady answered.

"I made tea," she said. She walked into the kitchen. She looked back to see if he would enter. He did.

"You are not a vampire," she said.

This caught him by surprise.

"Um… no."

"We used to know each other."

This also caught him by surprise.

"Do you recognize me?" she asked.

He did recognize her.

"Katie."

"Ahha! It is you!"

"It's been a long time."

"No der."

""I bet you're wondering how I didn't age, then."

"No, I'm wondering what time it is. Have you got a watch?" she said sarcastically.

"You've got a clock in the back of the room, um."

"Uh huh."

"So, anyway. Here's my story. I was born around the time the world ended."

"It didn't end," said Katie.

"Well, almost ended. So, the world ended, I was born, and now I'm immortal."

"That's a really short story."

"You aren't surprised?"

"I'm just glad you're not a vampire. I've always been a believer in vampires."

"How is your daughter doing?"

"Rebecca? You two had a little romance, did you?"

"Um."

"She's doing well."

"She's probably, like, sixty by now."

"Sixty isn't that old. I'm ninety-seven!"

"And you live here by yourself?"

"Yup."

"I thought you would have died by now."

"Well, you thought you would have died by now too."

"It was nice talking to you, but I need to leave district four. I didn't realize there was anybody here who would still know me."

"Wait! You can't just come in here, tell me that you're 300, and then leave! You have to stay."

"Actually, I'm 274."

"Just wait until I die. Then I'll let you leave."

"After your death, I don't really think you could stop me."

"Then you don't know me as well as you think you do, young man," she said.

_Yeah, this chapter was kind of lame. I might delete it later. What do you think?_


	7. Chapter 7

_I wrote this chapter listening to One Girl Revolution by Superchick on permanent loop. It's a good song; I recommend it._

**Chapter Seven**

Madge desperately tried to scratch the fiery polish off her perfect nails. The outfit had gone over well. Everybody had loved it and they were calling her The Girl on Fire. Stupid, unoriginal nickname. The interview had gone over well, too. She had acted depressed about dying.

Her ring finger presented some difficulty. What was this polish made of, anyway?

Madge had gotten a five in her private session with the Gamemakers. Her final judgment, she had called it. That was funny, considering she had done nothing.

"So this is it?" she had asked. "This is my final judgment?"

The Gamemakers were clearly bored. If they were bored, Madge decided, so was she.

So she pulled up a chair, crossed one leg over the other nonchalantly, and read a book. It was a book on plants that were poisonous. After about fifteen minutes, she was dismissed.

She finished her left hand and used it to scrape her right.

Tommorrow. The Hunger Games were tomorrow. Were they really so cruel as to send her into in unknown environment with nothing but thousands eyes trained on her and a one, two, three, go? Did they really expect her to kill those whom she knew and loved? Well, she wasn't going to. She would only kill somebody if they tried to kill her.

She tried to use regular soap to wash the nail polish off, but her nails were not cooperating. She went back to scraping.

Who do you die with, Madge? She asked herself. Peeta, the boy who makes bread? Haymitch, the emotionally unsound alcoholic? Effie, whose last brain cell died in solitary confinement years ago? No. Madge would die with twenty-two other innocent children who were thinking exactly the same toughts as she was. She would die in the middle of an unknown area that didn't even exist. Would a Capitol official who was only doing his job kill her? Would she die with a rope around her neck? No. Madge would die at the hands of an unstable innocent child who was acting purely out of self-defense.

She finished scraping her nails. She should probably get some sleep.

That's me, thought Prim as she watched Madge parade in her flaming outfit on the television. That's me in an alternate universe.

She witnessed the face of the smiling, well-fed Capitol children. That's me too, she thought. That's me in a world where innocent children's deaths exist only on television.

Give me a little bit of that, thought Prim. Give me just a little bit of ignorance, give me just a little bit of bliss.

Katniss Everdeen was returning after a day of hunting with the Huntresses. The group dynamic was different from what she did with Gale, but she liked it. This is the good life, she thought. And to think I used to wish I was a Capitol child.

She caught a television in of the Capitol restaurant. They were playing reruns of the reaping in district 12.

"Primrose Everdeen," Effie proclaimed proudly.

Katniss spun around. "She was reaped?" she asked.

"Yes," said Artemis.

"You said I would be reaped!"

""I said you would be the tribute. Think about it, Katniss. Would you not volunteer for your own dear sister?"

"You lied to me," said Katniss.

"Don't be mad, Katniss," said Annette.

"You're all a bunch of liars!" screamed Katniss, and stormed off into the Capitol. She didn't look back. She felt something leave her as she left. Immortality, maybe. She hadn't even noticed it was there.

"You didn't take away her precognition," Katia told Artemis.

"She's going to need it. Trust me, she'll be back," Artemis replied.

"Why? Did you have a psychic vision?"

"Trust me on this, Katia."

"Yes, Artemis."

President Snow awoke to find an unmarked letter from an anonymous sender. It didn't appear to be ticking, so he opened it.

In it, there were some pictures from previous Hunger Games. Some of them were taken a long time ago, back when the Hunger Games was new and the filming of it wasn't quite as sophisticated.

Upon closer inspection, they all appeared to be of a seventeen-year-old boy. They were all different people, obviously, but they looked remarkably similar. He noticed one of them still had traces of blonde dye in his hair.

There was a letter attached to the pictures. It said:

_Photos taken from Hunger Games numbers 8,12, 15, 36, 42, 52, 57, and 65._

_ For all of these people, this was their first, second or third time being counted in the Hunger Games census. Before that, there is no record of any of them. They all died shortly after winning the Hunger Games. The 65 victor has a small tattoo on his right wrist. _

_ All of these people are one in the same. You probably should have noticed, you idiot. Don't be paranoid._

_ -Anonymous_


	8. Chapter 8

_Let the Hunger Games begin!_

**Chapter Eight**

From an outsider's perspective1, it would appear twenty-four children were standing in the middle of a field, all facing a large, metal object filled with camping supplies. A race, at the worst, at first glance.

But then you would notice that the twenty-four children are all wearing identical clothing. And that the large, metal object is also contains something that looks dangerously pointy. Many things that look dangerously pointy, in fact. You would also note the mind numbing preciseness of the measurements taken. They're so evenly spaced, it hurts. The children's expressions show raw determination, not so much as to win as to not lose. When they say, _I would kill to win the Hunger Games, _they don't mean it in a metaphorical sense.

An alarm sounds, and the children take off. Some of them run away, some of them run towards the metal object, but either way, the quickest survive. There is bloodshed, and many of the children die. You ask, why? Why are they killing each other? There is no answer, because there is no reason. That's why it's so horrifying.

Madge was one of the children who made a mad dash for the large metal object (Cornucopia). On her way, she noticed a knife lying on the ground. She briefly wondered if she would get to keep it if she won the hunger games.

A young girl had grabbed a jacket and she had started to run. Madge stabbed her with her knife and took it. She decided that was enough for now, and started to run into the woods. When she was almost there, an arrow caught her in the ankle and she sprawled forward. She pulled it out and limped into the woods.

She sat on a rock by a stream. Somebody was coming after her; she could hear him or her. She wasn't starting out so good.

_Are you seriously going to die in the first ten minutes? _She asked herself. What weapons did she have? A knife and the arrow. The arrow was pretty much useless without a bow, but she still didn't throw it away. She also had a jacket (not a weapon). It was a standard zip-up with a hood and two pockets. Che checked the pockets. There was nothing in the left, but in the right there was a small plastic bag with a single pill in it. It was labeled _Nightlock._ The pill had a small 13 pressed into it. She put it back in the pocket.

The mystery person emerged in front of her. She was carrying a bow and had a sheath containing five arrows slung across her back. Madge realized she was as good as dead and snapped the arrow in her hand.

As far as Madge could tell, the bow and arrows was the only thing this person had gotten from the Cornucopia. She was clearly not a Career, and looked about fifteen. She pulled back the arrow.

_Run, Madge! _Where? She could jump up and tackle the girl. Or she could throw her knife.

Madge threw her knife. It fell short.

She tried tackling her. She jumped onto her and they hit the ground, the arrow flying harmlessly into the forest. Madge was now on top of the girl, but the girl was stronger than her and they rolled over. Madge noticed she had a gaping wound in her right shoulder.

The girl was trying to get an arrow from her sheath. She had four left. Madge dug her fingers into her shoulder wound. The girl yanked her arm forward to twist Madge's fingers away. Madge felt a pain in her ankle and realized the girl had stepped on her wound. She drew back in agony, giving the girl a chance to take an arrow from her sheath.

She targeted Madge's face, but Madge caught her hand. The arrow grazed the side of her face and stuck into the ground. The girl reached into her sheath for another arrow. Madge pulled the old one out of the ground and stabbed the girl in the eye. She screamed and clamped her hand over her eye. Madge shoved her off of her and grabbed her jacket and knife from where it lay on the ground. She didn't have time to get the sheath or the bow, but she managed to get two of the arrows from the sheath. She ran into the forest. The girl had one arrow left.

She stopped running and turned around. The girl was still following her. Madge saw her come out of the forest. She had running down the side of her face. She aimed the arrow, but it missed and grazed Madge's arm. The girl appeared to realize she was out of weapons. Madge tried throwing her knife again. This time, it hit the girl in the chest and knocked her over. Blood flowed across her shirt and she closed her eyes. Madge was aware of a canon being blown. She took the sheath, her knife, and the bow from the corpse and sat down.

Madge surveyed her injuries. She had an arrow wound in her left heel that was pretty deep, and shallow cuts on her face and arm. She used her knife to cut some fabric off the top of the sheath and wrap it around her heel. The arm and face wounds didn't need wrapping right now, she decided. She had four arrows, but no idea how to use a bow. She put the jacket on and slung the sheath across her back. She was next to a stream, but she had nothing to carry water in.

Hold on. She did have something. She took out the small Nightlock bag. She could put water in there, but what would she do with the pill? Madge knew that Nightlock was a poisonous kid of berry, so the pill was probably deadly. If she could get into her enemies' water supply, she could poison them, but this was unlikely considering that it would probably be guarded and booby-trapped. She also had a nagging sensation that this was not what the pill was meant to be used for.

She decided to leave the pill in there for the time being and stay there for the rest of the day. Madge was also getting hungry, but she could find food tomorrow. This was the Hunger Games, after all.

Madge splashed her face in the stream. She wanted to take a bath, but she didn't want to go to bed soaking wet. She put her knife in the sheath with the arrows and laid the bow beside it. She looked for food in the immediate area, but couldn't find any. Eventually, it got dark, and the dead tributes faces flashed in the sky. Madge counted 13, which meant there were still ten out there hunting her. Madge was glad Peeta wasn't in the death count.

She took off the jack and laid it on top of her like a blanket. She put the sheath under her head like a pillow, and kept the knife and the bow next to her. She put the Nightlock in the sheath. She closed her eyes. She was scared to go to sleep, because she was outside, it was dark, and there were a lot of animal sounds, not to mention the people trying to kill her. Still, her pain and exhaustion won out, and eventually she drifted off.

_The next two chapters are also going to be Hunger Games._

1 You better hope that's how you're seeing it.


	9. Chapter 9

_Does anybody know the name of the district four girl in book one? You know, Katniss killed her with the tracker jacker nest? If she remained unnamed, I'll just make one up._

**Chapter Nine**

Madge awoke to the steps of footsteps. She was not alone. Of course, several insects and woodland creatures had surrounded her, and of the course the Gamemakers watched her 24/7, but this was different. This was _human_ life.

She also heard the sound of voices. She gathered her jacket, bow, and sheath of arrows. She hid them behind a rock and held her breath.

There seemed to be about six of them, led by a boy named Cato and a girl named Glimmer. _Glimmer. _Nice story to tell in the afterlife. I got my throat ripped out by a girl named Glimmer. And Cato? Is there a limit of five characters?

She could probably take one of them out right now, if they were alone, but she couldn't take on all six. She assumed they were Careers, because they cast off the unmistakable smell of arrogance and blood that only a Career tribute could.

Madge reached for her knife. It was still in the sheath of arrows.

"Did you hear something?" asked Glimmer.

Madge held her breath. _Paranoia. Paranoia, that's all it is. _

"I did, actually," said Cato. Madge knew they would find her. She couldn't hide here forever. It was a nice delusion that they would look everywhere except where she was like in some old TV show, but it wasn't true. Madge could either jump up and fight, or run away.

Madge grabbed her jacket and slung her sheath across her back. She fired an arrow at Cato and ran away before she could see whether or not it made its mark.

She could hear them pursuing her. She could assume she had missed Cato, but the careers didn't exactly adopt the Boy Scouts' 'no scout left behind' philosophy. If she was going to outrun, she was going to have to ditch the bow. She wasn't very good with it anyway. She threw it into the woods, hoping the Careers would go after it. If they did, they would stop chasing her. If they didn't, she could go back for it later. The only win-win situation where the number one possible outcome is a slow, painful death.

Madge heard a loud, booming sound and wondered if a she was being shot at. Then she realized it was a canon. Somebody had died. Was it Cato?

Madge almost tripped over a log and couldn't help thinking that the gunshot was for her. She ran into a clearing and stopped. She was out of breath.

Surprisingly, there was a young girl sitting in one of the trees.

The Careers burst into the clearing. Madge drew her knife. She counted five. Cato was not among them. In the distance, she heard the sound of a helicopter.

"Alliance?" she suggested weakly. Was it too late to run again?

She wondered if somebody else would arrive, but it seemed everybody was already here. 11 dead, plus Cato, five Careers, herself, and Tree Girl. Nineteen people were present and accounted for.

"Look," she said, pointing at Tree Girl.

"What are you pointing to, Fire Girl?"

"I didn't design the costume," said Madge. "And I'm pointing to the girl in the trees."

"There is no girl in the trees," said Glimmer.

Madge didn't dare turn around to look. For some weird reason, it started to rain. Probably some distant tribute was just starting a fire. Then lightning started to strike. As soon as the trees caught, the rain and lightning mysteriously stopped. Madge worried what would become of Tree Girl.

She had two options. She could run towards the Careers, or she could run into the fire.

She tried not to inhale too much smoke as she ran. She still had her knife in her hand. She must have dropped her jacket somewhere in the forest. Madge was thankful she had put her Nightlock in her sheath.

The fire had to end somewhere. Madge pitied the animals, who were running also. No poisonous or even potentially dangerous animal was safe within miles of the Capitol. All that evolution had backfired.

_ And you thought only the tasty ones were hunted, _thought Madge.

The fire seemed to have stopped. Madge turned around. It had disappeared. But who had lived? Who had died? The shot of the canons could easily have been lost in the roaring fire.

Was Peeta alive? The careers? Tree Girl? Madge knew she could wait until the night, when the Capitol seal flashed in the sky. Why had they even started the fire?

Madge was not in the best shape. It was vey hot, she had no food or water, and her only weapons were a knife and two bowless arrows. She also had the Nightlock, but that wasn't really good for anything except poisoning food, and if Madge could find some food, she would eat it.

Water. She needed to find some. Had the stream survived the fire? It might be filled with debris, but it might be drinkable. And food. She could probably find some animal.

For the first time, Madge noticed she was burned. The fringe on the end of her pants had burned off, her shoes falling off. She could see her hurt ankle had become swollen, and the bandage had burned off. The rest of her feet were scarred and damaged by the fire. Her arms were also scraped up and burned, and her face hurt. For the first time in her life, Madge felt truly damaged. She was going to die.

Madge took out the Nightlock and held it up to see. She could take it now and end it all. It would be the quickest, least painful way to go. But who would win the Hunger Games?

Madge lay down in the grass and closed her eyes. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep when the Capitol anthem began to play.

Madge sat up abruptly. The faces in the sky! The dead tributes! She had missed them!

It was night. Madge had slept all day, and now she had sunburns to match her real ones. It was too dark to see much of anything. Madge wished she had a flashlight. And some food and water. And a real bed. And some nice weapons.

Madge smiled. It's what every sixteen year old girl wants for her birthday! A big, pointy javelin!

Madge tried to figure out who was dead. Eleven died on the first day, plus Cato. That makes 12 known deaths. There was also her, so that makes 11 not present or accounted for. Peeta and Tree Girl she could trust. Up to five Careers who were definitely not to be trusted. That leaves six people she had not yet encountered. Those were the ones to watch out for.

Madge wasn't tired. She had already slept. It was too dark to go out, so for now Madge was stuck. She tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. She set out as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Knife in hand, Madge walked slowly into the forest. It was decimated, the ground still smoking. If she encountered somebody, she was in no condition to run or fight. She would just have to hope the other person was too. It wasn't too late for alliances.

Madge couldn't find the stream. She would have to walk across the burnt area to the clean part of the forest, if there was any. She started to walk when she came across a body. It had an arrow in its left shoulder and looked male. Madge was sure it was Cato, but the shoulder wound wasn't fatal. It simply weakened him enough for the fire to get him and the Careers to abandon him. So if the canon yesterday wasn't Cato's, then who's was it? Madge trudged on.

After walking for about an hour, she came across a small girl. Her body was badly burned, but she had a pulse. At Madge's touch, her eyes fluttered open.

"Where's the note?" she asked.

"Tree Girl," said Madge.

"Rue," said Tree Girl.

"What note?" asked Madge.

"The note from 13. It said there was Nightlock, but there wasn't."

Nightlock. 13. The note must have been in the other pocket of the jacket, but fallen out.

"13? What do you mean 13? The thirteenth what?"

"The thirteenth district."

A note from district 13? District 13 had burned to the ground. It must be the Capitol, messing with their heads. Madge bet that the Nightlock wasn't even real.

_Really? Are you willing to bet your life on that one?_

"It burned to the ground," said Madge.

"To the ground," said Rue. "Not under it."

"Underground?"

"The note says," said Rue. "If you win the Hunger Games, take the Nightlock. If you're killed, give your killer the note and the Nightlock. It wasn't supposed to be there. The Capitol used the fire to destroy it."

"What about the Nightlock?"

"I have no idea where it is."

"I do." Madge pulled the Nightlock from her sheath.

"Destroy it," said Rue. "Destroy it or the Capitol will."

"I would never take it," said Madge.

"Are you sure?"

"100%," she lied. "Why would I kill myself for 13? They never did anything for me."

"Then give it to me. I need it."

"No. C'mon, let's go."

"I can't walk. Leave me here."

"No. Let me carry you." Madge turned around. "Hold on to my back."

With Madge's help, Rue put her arms around her neck. They went through the burnt forest, piggyback style. Rue was light for a human being, but heavy for an object to carry. Madge would have gone faster without her, but she didn't feel right leaving her there.

"I take it I've got myself an alliance," said Rue as they walked.

"You can count on me until we're the only two left, Rue."

"And then?"

"We'll see."

Madge walked until high noon. Finally, green leaves began to show. They had made it through the burned area. Madge put Rue down.

"I think I can walk now," said Rue.

"We need to find food," said Madge. "And water. Also, I missed the tributes last night. Did you see them?"

"No, I was unconscious."

"Too bad. We could be the last two and not even know it."

"Highly unlikely."

"You look for water. I'll look for food."

"Ok."

Madge decided that meat would most likely be the least poisonous way to go, but plants would be easier to get. She spotted a bush with red berries growing on it.

"Ill take my chances," she said out loud.

She grabbed some of the berries and put them in her sheath.

"Did you find any water?" she asked.

"Yes." Rue led her to a stream. They sat down on a rock, where Madge revealed the berries.

"I'll bet you they're poisonous," said Rue.

"We would eat something else if we had anything."

"All right, let's go."

They looked at each other. Neither of them was eating.

"You go first," said Rue.

"No way."

"I'm not going first."

"I saved you. You owe me one."

"Fine." Rue gingerly took a berry from the pile and put it in her mouth. She sucked on it a little bit, and then bit down. She did not spontaneously combust or keel over in pain.

"They're good," said Rue.

They ate the berries until they were full. They were bitter, but tangy. They tasted pretty good for what they were, but their best quality was their non-fatality.

They also took turns bathing. Rue went first. After Madge had taken a bath, it started to get dark. Madge and Rue both went to sleep. There were no casualties that day. They both slept the night.

Rue woke up to the sound of a canon shot. She shook Madge awake.

"Somebody died," said Rue.

"Who?"

"Dunno. Heard the canon."

"Shh. There's somebody here."

They sat still for about five seconds.

"Reveal your self," said Madge. "We won't hurt you."

Somebody stepped out from behind a rock. He was tall, and looked almost eighteen. Madge didn't recognize him, but Rue did.

"Thresh," she said.

"It's me."

"Thresh, did you see the faces in the sky? Who's alive?"

"Eight of us. Most of the Careers are dead, except the girl…"

"Glimmer."

"Yeah, her. And some kid, didn't look like a Career."

"Peeta?"

"Peeta's alive."

Madge thought. Peeta, Rue, Glimmer, and her made four of the living eight, minus the one who died today. Who were the other three?

"Alliance," said Rue. It wasn't a question.

"What's the plan?" asked Madge.

"We need to find Glimmer," said Thresh. "And kill her."

"Right," said Madge. "Let's follow the stream. Glimmer is probably looking for water too."

They walked down the stream, occasionally stopping for water. They finally came upon the form of a burnt sleeping girl.

"Glimmer," said Madge. "Thresh, you got a weapon? All I have is a knife and three arrows."

"No, I opted for the run away."

"Wait," said Rue. "She's not sleeping." She gently turned Glimmer's head. There was a deep gash on the side that ran down her throat.

"She was the canon this morning," said Madge.

"Who killed her?" asked Thresh.

Somebody emerged from the forest.

"I did," she said. Madge recognized her voice. She was a Career.

"We were the last of the Careers," she said. "Glimmer was badly burned. I ran faster, and remained unharmed. I set up camp here, and Glimmer found me. She asked to strike up an alliance. I said no."

"How did you kill her?" asked Madge.

"Like this," said Clove. She took a knife from her belt and threw it. It hit Thresh in the chest, and he stumbled back.

"Thresh!" screamed Rue. She ran to him and put her hand on his chest.

"Rue," said Thresh. He closed his eyes. A canon sounded.

"He's dead," said Madge. She pulled the knife from his chest and was about to put it in her sheath when Rue said, "No, give it to me. I need a weapon too."

"You won't need any weapons after I kill you," said Clove. She pulled a knife from her belt. Rue jumped on her and knocked her over. She tried to stab her face with the knife, but Clove stopped her hand. She threw Rue off of her. Rue lay on the ground, unconscious with the knife laying on the ground by her hand.

Clove selected a third knife from her belt and moved in to kill Rue. Rue's eyes popped open and she grabbed the knife. She jammed it into Clove's face, aiming for her eye. The knife missed the eye, but it stuck into Clove's cheek. Rue took it out and pushed Clove to the ground. She sat on top of her. Clove attempted to buck her off, but she was still in pain.

"You killed Thresh!" she screamed, stabbing her. She screamed this until her voice was cut off by the sound of a canon. She got up.

"There are five left," said Madge. "Us and Peeta, we don't have to worry about, but that makes two who are still hunting us."

"It's getting dark," said Rue. "I say we go to sleep."

"Tomorrow," said Madge, "We find Peeta."


	10. Chapter 10

_I named the district four girl Miana Jade, in honor of Mockingjay. Obviously, Foxface is number three._

**Chapter Ten**

Madge and Rue continued along the river, not wanting to lose their only water source.

"At least all of the Careers are dead," said Rue.

"Yes, but we still don't know the two people who could kill us."

"I smell smoke." They ran in the direction of the smell.

Madge was the first to arrive. She found a small campsite, with a fire, a blanket, and something wrapped in cloth. She unwrapped the cloth and found some raw meat and a match.

"Should we eat it?" asked Madge.

"If we take, the person who owns this campsite might notice."

"I thought this was Clove's."

"It probably was, but we can't be too careful."

"Come on Rue," she said. "The Careers are dead, and there is probably only one person at this campsite. We can take them on if we need to."

They took the meat back to their campsite and lit a fire. Madge stuck the meat on a stick and grilled it over the fire. Soon they had food to eat. Madge served Rue first and then herself.

Rue started eating immediately. Madge was about to start when Rue said:

"Wait. It's poisoned." She vomited on the fire, putting it out. She passed out on the hot coals. Madge screamed.

"Rue!" she shrieked. She shook her little friend wildly, but she didn't wake up. Madge barely heard the distant canon shot.

She gathered up her sheath of arrows, Nightlock, and knife and ran through the forest. She eventually came to the destination, the campsite where they had found the meat.

A girl was sitting there, tending a fire.

"Miana," she said. "Miana Jade. District four."

"The Careers," said Madge. "I thought they were dead."

"I didn't join them," said Miana. "I'm not a group person. You've met Clove, I presume?"

"She killed Thresh."

"That's Clove. Thrower of knives, cold blooded murderer."

"And what's your weapon of choice?"

Miana beamed. "Poison."

"How do you kill people when you're attacked?"

"Is that a threat, 12 girl?"

"No, just a question."

"Dart gun. Dipped in poison."

"You're going to kill me, then?" asked Madge.

"How did you guess?" said Miana with a smile.

"Look, if you don't kill me, I've got something to trade."

"What? A sheath of arrows without a bow?"

"Nightlock."

Miana smiled. "Nice try. They didn't put any Nightlock berries in this arena."

"Not berries. Pill form. I've only got the one, but you can dissolve it in water."

"Show me."

Madge slowly took out the Nightlock. Miana looked at it, sniffed it, and turned it over in her hand.

"I'm pretty sure it's real," said Miana. "But there really is only one way to find out. If it doesn't work when that time comes, 12 girl, you're dead."

"Deal." Madge put out her hand. Miana reached out to shake it, and Madge chopped her hand clean off with her knife.

Miana howled in pain and dropped the Nightlock. Madge picked it up and put it in her plastic bag. Then she ran.

She ran quickly through the forest. When she finally stopped, Miana was nowhere in sight. The only sound was Madge's own heartbeat, but that was a sledgehammer.

Suddenly a canon sounded.

No. That wound was not fatal. It couldn't be. Either that wasn't Miana's shot, or somebody else intervened. It was unlikely that the shot wasn't Miana's. So that means…

Somebody must have been watching. Miana couldn't have died so quickly. But who?

Three were left. One was Madge. Another was Peeta. Who was the third?

Madge had no food, no water, and no warmth for cold nights. All she had were weapons, useless things! Poison with nothing to poison, arrows without a bow, and a knife. The knife was the only thing Madge could actually use!

Peeta must have supplies. Madge had to find him. They would ally, hunt down the third, and then… Would Madge really kill Peeta?  
>Her childhood friend?<p>

She had thought it was horrible to kill somebody without even knowing their first name. She had thought it was horrible that after somebody died, they were nothing but a number and a gender. But Madge realized it was even worse to know. To know that the person you're killing is just like you, has a family, has things to love, and do it anyway. Madge could kill an attacker, even a potential threat, and dismiss it as self defense, but you can't murder an ally and say you had no choice. There is always a choice.

"Peeta!" screamed Madge. The third would hear her, if she weren't already watching. Madge didn't care.

The third. Die with a number on your forehead and be neatly filed away.

"Peeta!" She was in hysterics now; it was getting dark. Madge was freezing.

Name: Madge. District: 12. Gender: female. Cause of death: Hypothermia

Die with a number on your forehead…

Madge wanted to cry. Would she actually seem human that way? Not just a nameless doll with a number on her forehead?

She didn't cry. The third would kill her right then and there, if she did.

Madge lay down on the ground and slept. She didn't care if she woke up dead. At least she would be out. At least Madge would get the brass.

But she didn't wake up dead. She woke up to the smell of food. Daylight was streaming through the branches of the trees and somebody was standing over her.

"Peeta," breathed Madge.

"Hey."

"Food."

"Meat. Let me get you some."

Peeta took out a pot where some meat was cooking and placed it on the ground. Madge ate some, and so did he.

"Peeta. We need to find the third person."

"I saw her once."

"Female?"

"Yeah. Not sure what district, though. She took some of the Careers' food, before they died."

Gender: Female. District: Unknown.

"What's her name?"

"I don't you. We can ask her, when we find her."

"No, I'll just call her Three."

"All right. Should we seek her out, or wait for her to come to us?"

"No," said Madge. "This ends today." She grabbed her knife.

_Long line_

They came across an abandoned campsite with the smoking remains of a fire.

"She heard us coming," said Madge.

"I'll bet she's here."

"Come on out, Three!" yelled Madge. "We know you're out there! Come on out and fight us!"

A young redhead girl appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She pulled a knife from her belt and threw it at Peeta. Madge gasped. The sickening splat of metal on skin made her gag.

Sharp metal. Soft skin. Cuts like scissors on paper.

The canon sounded before he even hit the ground.

Madge ran to him, hoping against all odds. The canon sounded, said her brain. He's dead.

Madge turned around. Three was gone. She wasn't in this to win, or kill, she was here to survive.

Three could run, but Madge knew the Capitol would throw them together, eventually. Three must know it, too. She would be back.

"Hold your fire," said Madge. "She'll be back. You don't need to drive us together."

Madge sat down. She picked some berries, ate them, and didn't die. She took a small nap and did not wake up dead. She sat down, alert and ready. When Three came for her, it was going to be a battle to the death. A neat little death with a number on her forehead. File the body away; file the victor in some pretty little house…

Madge took out the Nightlock and looked at it. She realized that it really was from district 13. Why would the Capitol give it to her?

"The world will be watching," Madge mumbled.

"And thirteen," she said, "is included."

A silver parachute rained from the sky. Madge was about to open it. Suddenly she wondered who's it was.

It could be three's parachute, too. Madge drew nearer and inspected it without opening it. It was harmless looking, except for one thing. It was ticking.

Three leapt from the tree and ran through the forest at top speed.

The parachute wasn't from the Capitol at all! Three dropped it her!

She was here the whole time. Madge ran after her. She was disappearing out of sight. An explosion that threw Madge to her knees rocked the ground. When it had stopped, Madge continued her running. It was no use. Three was not to be found.

It was up to the Capitol to drive them together, right now. A green mist emanated from the forest. It must have come from the outside of the arena, probably going to the Cornucopia.

Madge ran. It was a poisonous gas, she knew, but the only way it would kill her was if she threw herself into it.

She ran to the Cornucopia. Three was probably already there. She was much faster than Madge, after all.

The green stopped. Madge entered the burnt area. It smelled like death.

Death stinks, thought Madge.

She burst out of the ruined forest, even though it was never really a forest at all, it was a hologram created by the Capitol.

Three was not the enemy. The Capitol was.

The Cornucopia was in sight. The circle of mist shrank to ten feet, and disappeared.

Where was Three? Madge realized Three was inside the Cornucopia.

"I know you're in there, Three."

The redhead girl emerged. She sighed, and then pulled out a large bow and a knife.

"Yours," she said, holding up the bow.

She put an arrow in the bow and pulled back the string. It hit Madge just below the knee and she stumbled.

"You don't kill," said Madge. "You run."

"I can throw knives," said Three.

"Knives?"

Three nodded. She wasn't cocky like Miana or Clove. She wasn't a super fighter; she wasn't a Career. She was a smart one, the most dangerous kind.

Madge pulled her knife out of her sheath. Three also had a knife, and she did the same.

Madge tried to leap forward and stab Three, but Three was too fast. She ducked out of the way and threw Madge to the ground. She sat on top of her.

Madge easily threw her off. She was so light.

She sat on top of her and raked her knife across Three's face. Three opened her mouth and screamed in pain. Madge made a cut along Three's throat, and it started to bleed. She thought she had won, but at the last minute, Three jammed her knife into Madge's stomach.

"If I die," said Three, spitting blood, "you die too."

Madge's vision started to get spotty. A canon sounded, but it was Three's. A victory message with her name on it came over the loudspeaker. The pain was roaring in her ears.

The Capitol would revive her. She was the victor.

Did she really want to win?

Three died with a number on her forehead. Peeta died with a number on his forehead, and Clove, and Miana… Now Madge would win with a number on her forehead.

Madge reached into her sheath and pulled out her Nightlock. Would she really live out the rest of her days alone?

No, Madge, too, would die with a number on her forehead. She heard the distant helicopter, and slipped the Nightlock into her mouth.

New pain joined her knife wound. She was too tired to scream. She closed her eyes and drifted off for the last time. She thought she heard a canon shot, but it might have been the pounding in her ears.

Madge would die with a number on her forehead. That number was 13.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Angeles the Huntress was sleeping under the stars. That was the best thing about being a Huntress. Sure, you could hunt illegally in the wilderness outside like Katniss, but at the end of the day you were still under the watchful eye of the Capitol and you lived in District 12. Angeles was on the other side of the world, in a place once called Australia. Of course, it was a lot smaller, and the areas that were once called deserts were now inhabited by fishes. You could hardly call it Australia now.

It was strange to think there were other words out there, on the stars. Worlds that could be barren deserts, or a second Earth, with its own dominant race and its own political issues and its own controlling corrupt government, and who knows, maybe even its own gods. Maybe the population there is still innocent, living in caves, and the thought of thievery or the worshipping of a deity hadn't even crossed their minds.

How could you drift off, on a night like this, thought Angeles as she drifted off. She started to dream. She immediately knew it was a prophetic dream. It had the fuzzy, chopped up feeling of an old recording. It was the kind that gave an unspecific overview, rather than the kind that give in great detail about five seconds of one's life.

Angeles had had prophetic dreams before, and she recognized this as post-cognition. It was of a young girl. Angeles realized that it was Katia. She was crying. None of the other Huntresses were around her. Somehow, in the way that only the dreaming mind and the psychic can, she knew that it was during the time Artemis had left. After four years, Katia couldn't take it any more, and went to look for her. Artemis had come back before Katia had, and Katia had never told anybody exactly what happened.

The dream shifted, and Angeles was Katia. She felt a sense of loss, similar to the one she had felt when she lost her parents*. Yet it wasn't the same. Instead of being underlined by anger, as Angeles's had, it was underlined by guilt. Somebody was gone, and it was her fault.

"Can I help you?" The young cashier looked expectantly at the teenager who had wandered into the shop.

"Actually, I was looking for a place to stay. Do you have a back room in the shop?"

"We do, but you would need to pay."

The girl sighed.

"Do you know where I can get transport to one of the districts?"

The cashier was surprised. "Why would anybody want to do that?"

"Uh… I have a school project. I have to, um, pick a district and do a report on it."

"Which district?"

"12."

"Why do you need to actually go to the district to report on it? I'm sure there are tons of paces in the Capitol to gather information."

"Look, I just need to go there, okay?" demanded the girl. She seemed desperate. Why would anybody be desperate to visit district 12?

"Only reporters or people involved in the reaping are allowed passes to visit the districts. Sorry."

"Where can I find a reporter?"

"Here, I'll draw you a map." The cashier took out a piece of paper and drew a map of the Capitol. She circled her shop, then drew an arrow to the station where television was produced.

"Thank you."

The girl started to walk out the door when the cashier stopped her.

"Hold on! How come you didn't know where it was? Don't you live around here? Where are your parents?"

"Actually," said the girl, "I'm just visiting. I thought it would be fun, but it turns out I was wrong." She turned around and walked out the door before the cashier could say anything more.

It was only one in the morning, but any Capitol citizen who was up would have noticed a young boy, no more than seventeen, walk through the city gates. He was looking for a room in a hotel. There were few hotels in the Capitol, since the only reason a Capitol citizen would visit another part of the Capitol would be to visit a relative, who could usually provide room.

One of the people who processed his arrival was a security guard.

"Hey, look at this," he said to his friend. "Some kid just walked into the city."

"Where did he come from?"

"Dunno. He just appeared out of nowhere."

"Run him through al of the citizen's profiles."

"Four matches. One of them recently ran away. Must be him."

"That explains it. What about the other three?"

"All dead. Disappeared under mysterious circumstances, actually. Most of them would be old or dead by now anyway."

"Huh. Call the kid's family. Tell them he's back."

"Will do."

"The Hunger Games is on!" shouted Li's mom from the living room. She and her dad ran in to watch.

"There are two people left," said a reporter. "This could be the end of the Hunger Games."

They watched as Madge approached the Cornucopia, wondering where Three was.

"She's in the Cornucopia," said Li.

Madge also seemed to realize this. She called for her opponent to come out.

Li watched as they fought with knives. When Three's throat was cut, she gasped.

"We have a victor!" cheered her mom.

Suddenly Three stabbed Madge in the stomach.

"Is she dead?" Li asked.

"No, the Capitol will save her," said her mom.

"She ate something," said Li.

"A pill," said her dad. "Probably a painkiller. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Li hoped so. It would be really disappointing if they didn't have a victor this year.

* She also felt a familiar presence. It was all her own, not Katia's, but she assumed it was part of the vision.


	12. Chapter 12

_Shasta means three._

**Chapter Twelve**

Madge woke up in a waiting room. She was sitting in a chair.

"Finally!" said somebody. "I was waiting for you guys to die!"

"Hold on," said somebody else, "If they both died, who is the victor?"

"There is no victor," said Madge. "I killed myself heroically with Nightlock from district 13." Her eyes came into focus. She was surprised to discover that she was surrounded by people she knew. 23 people who were all between the ages of 12 and 18.

"Oh my god," breathed Madge.

"You killed me!" Miana screamed at Three.

Three looked at the floor. Her will to survive was gone. She looked defeated. Madge put an arm around her.

"It's ok, Three," she said. "We all lost."

"My name is Shasta," she said. "Shasta Blake."

"I'm sorry I killed you."

"It's okay. Since you killed yourself, I guess that makes us both victors."

A young girl was crying in the corner of the room. Madge walked over to her.

"Rue?" she asked.

"Madge?" asked Rue, looking up.

"Rue, I'm so sorry."

"Who killed me?"

"Miana, the district four girl. Poison is her weapon of choice."

Thresh walked over to them.

"Rue. It's okay. You're safe now."

Madge looked around the room for Peeta. He was sitting in a chair. Somehow he looked calm, as though he were waiting for the dentist, and not a war refugee like everybody else.

"Peeta," she said, walking over to him.

"Madge," said Peeta. "Alexandra is dead. This is like losing her all over again."

"Peeta," said Madge. "Who is Alexandra?"

"My daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

"From a past life. I remember it all now."

"How could you have had a past life?"

"It's compicated to explain. I died in a fire in my first life. I abandoned her, Madge."

"It's not your fault," said Madge.

"If I had taken better care of her, she would have ended up in Elysium, I lost her forever. I only lived all my lives so I could forget. I have no desire to live n the Isles."

Madge didn't know what to say to this. Luckily, she didn't have to. Somebody walked into the room.

"All right, we're ready to go!" said the man. "Madge and Shasta, my name is Charon. We're going to take you across the river to the big island, where we put all the Hunger Games tributes. Except for Peeta over there, who has lived three lives. His fate is being decided."

"I want to see my daughter," said Peeta. "Just once. Please."

"You can't," said Charon. "The good news is, Annabeth is already at one of the Isles of the Blest, so you can live with her there, if you wish."

Two people came in and took Peeta away. Madge could hear him screaming for his daughter until the mist washed it away. A boat came up to the shore to meet the dead tributes.

Annabeth had been all by herself for over 20 years. When she heard of Peeta's death, she was very excited. She ran up to the shore and came to greet him.

"Alexandra," he said. "We lost her forever."

"Percy," she said. "There's something I need to tell you. I got Persephone to pull up Alexandra's file on the underworld computer. And guess what? She's not dead."

"How is that possible?"

"She may have been granted immortality."

"How?"

"My theory is, she became a huntress."

"A Huntress of Artemis?"

"Yes."

"We have to contact Artemis!"

"I've tried."

"Can we get out of here? Just to contact Artemis?"

"No, Percy. They'll never let us out."

Percy sighed. One way or the other, he would talk to his daughter. And he wasn't going to let anybody stand in his way.

Katia was dreaming of bunny rabbits and clouds. Big fuffy bunny rabbits… ahhh…

Somebody was shaking her awake. It was Angeles.

"What?" asked Katia.

"We need to talk."

"We're talking."

"We need to go out to the woods and talk."

"Fine." Katia and Angeles walked out into the woods.

"Katia," said Angeles, "Do you have a kid?"

"What?" asked Katia, stunned.

"A kid. I know you have one."

Katia was silent.

"I knew it!" she said. "I'm telling Artemis."

Katia stopped her. "You can't."

"I'm sorry. I have to."

Angeles ran back to their campsite.

"Artemis," she said, shaking her awake.

"What?"

"Katia… um, she um, um…"

"I have a kid," said Katia, suddenly appearing.

"You _what?" _said Artemis.

"I was with a guy, and I got pregnant. I had a baby. That's what I was doing when I was away."

"This is serious," said Artemis.

"I know."

"Leave. Now."

"We're in Australia."

"You're a huntress. You'll live. As of right now, you're on your own."

With that, Artemis awoke the other huntresses. They walked into the distance, and suddenly disappeared.

The boy from district four walked into the Capitol. He was going to go back to the family he had just left. He could say he just wanted to run away. It would be easy.

A strange feeling suddeny passed through him. Like somebody had just walked over his grave. Ha! His grave! Like that's ever going to happen.

He walked through the Capitol, then started to run. As he ran, his arm snagged the side of a building. It was bleeding. He wiped the blood away. Then he realized something. The cut hadn't healed.

Could this really be? Could he have lost his immortality?

He stared at the blood on the cloth in distaste. He got a feeling, the same feeling you get from being buried alive. You wake up, and it takes you a moment to realize what's happening, it's dark, you're in a box, oh God, it's so dark… Six feet under the ground.

The blood looked redder, somehow. It seemed more like real blood, a part of him, not just another fluid that occasionally oozed out of him. It hurt, for real, and reality hurt more than a shot through the heart or a sixty foot fall.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Come with me, young man," said somebody who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He grabbed the seventeen-year-old boy by the wrist and dragged him through the streets.

"What's your name?" asked the man.

"Uh," said the boy. What had they called him here? "Andrew."

"We're going to take you back to your family," said the man. "Shame on you for running away."

"Um, sorry."

Eventually they came back to a Capitol house the one where he had previously lived.

Three people came running up to him. He was going to live with them forever.

Even after just a day, Katia was going insane.

She couldn't do it. She could build a campsite, she could hunt for food, she could build a fire, but she just could live without human life. Fifty years! She could probably survive for fifty more years on her own before she was too old. Gods! All on her own!

And she had a son. A son that she would never meet. Sure she had met him when he was born, obviously, and he had kind of been there for nine months, but that really didn't count.

Somehow, she had to get back to Panem. She had to find her son, to make things right with him. He was probably an immortal child, linked with her own immortality.

Gods! Thought Katia. He must have lost his immortality. Poor kid.

He's got to be, like, 300 years old by now. Hardly a kid.

"The only thing we can do is wait around for her to die," said Annabeth.

"If she really is a huntress, then that will take a long time," said Percy.

"She will, eventually."

"Could we talk to her in a dream?"

"Only if she was an oracle."

"Do you think she could be an oracle?"

"Possibly." Annabeth sighed. "But I really have no idea how."

"Ask Persephone."

"Ok, fine, I'll ask her." She pulled out a small cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Annabeth said when Persephone picked up.

"Hey, it's Annabeth," she said. "We were just wondering how we speak to the living in dreams. Yeah, we know it can only be done with oracles. What do you mean, there aren't any? The Huntresses? They're all oracles? All right, tell me how to talk to them, then…" she motioned for Percy to get her a paper and a pen. "Un-huh… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… got it. Thanks."

She turned off the phone and looked at the piece of paper.

"We have to know their location, sort of," she said.

"I think I can help there," said Percy. "They would most likely be in the Capitol."

"Where is the middle of the Capitol? Do you know the coordinates?"

"I think it would be about 40º north and 115º west." How had he known that?"

"Then we have to have their full name," said Annabeth. "At least, first and last."

"Alexandra Chase Jackson."

"Next, she needs to be asleep."

"All right."

"And we need a connection."

"We're connected by blood, aren't we?"

"Let's hope that's enough."

"Should we start, then?"

"How can we know if it's night or day?"

"I've still got a watch," said Percy. "It runs overworld time."

They checked the watch. It said 12:00.

"12 noon or 12 midnight?" asked Anna Beth.

"Let's hope it's midnight." Percy glanced around. "Should we start?"

"We should hold hand," said Annabeth. "And close our eyes."

They held hands and closed their eyes.

"OK. First, picture the coordinates."

Percy and Annabeth pictured the coordinates. They pictured the Capitol… a clothing shop… a jewelry store… a dark sky… streetlamps. The picture grew depth and detail. They could both see things in their heads that they had never seen before.

"Now think of her name," said Annabeth.

Percy said her name over and over in his had. He could feel Annabeth doing the same.

A picture of their daughter began to form in their heads. Beautiful blonde hair, green eyes… she was sleeping in a room full of girls. She was clutching a bow in her hand and had a sheath of arrows slung over her back.

"Enter her dreams," said Annabeth. They felt the pull of the psychic's dreamscape, and they drew nearer to the bright white light.

They were standing on a hill with a pine tree on it.

"Half-Blood hill," said Percy.

Angeles was sitting underneath a pine tree, reading a book.

"Alexandra?" said Annabeth softly.

Angeles looked up. "Mom? Is it really you?"

"It's really me, dear. It's not just a dream." They ran towards each other and hugged.

Angeles saw Percy and broke from her mother's grip. "Dad."

"Alexandra. I'm so sorry I died."

"It's not your fault, dad."

"Alexandra," said Annabeth. "We wanted to let you know we love you, and we always will. Do you think if you died right now, you would go to Elysium?"

"Well, the only way I would die would be if I got kicked out of the huntresses, and whatever I do to get myself kicked out would pretty much forfeit any chance I had of going to Elysium."

"When you die," said Percy, "We'll go wherever you do."

"Is this real?" asked Angeles. "Or did I dream it?"

Suddenly the dreamscape started to fade. Percy and Annabeth opened their eyes, which ha become closed again, and found themselves back where they were.

Angeles woke up back with the huntresses, who were on a train.

"Would you be mad if I left the huntresses?" she asked Artemis.

Artemis scowled. "Some boy?"

"No, it's not a boy. I just kind of need to be with my family. This world is in pretty bad shape."

"You got a dream visit, then?"

"Yes. My parents."

"I understand. You can leave, if you want to."

"Thanks." Angeles opened the side door of the train, and stepped out into a Capitol city. She sniffed the air. It smelled good.

She walked the streets with a long, confident stride. It was the walk of somebody with a purpose, somebody that was wise beyond the years they appeared to be, maybe even wise beyond the years she actually was. This was the walk of a huntress.

_You're not a huntress anymore, _said a voice in the back of her head.

_I'm still a huntress, _she told it. _Just a little freelance now._

"I can't believe it," said Coin. "There is no victor."

"I think it's time to wage war on them."

"We need the districts."

"We should bomb the Capitol first. The districts will join us."

"We are outnumbered."

"We have the twelve districts! Do you think they would fight for a controlling tyrannical government? We only need to bomb them once. The Capitol is a fragile place."

"Fine. One bomb from unknown origin should scare them."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Hey, do you have a place to stay?" asked the girl.

The cashier laughed. "A girl asked me that, just the other day."

"What did she look like?"

"Oh, brown hair, pretty plain looking. Almost like a district girl, but I wouldn't say that to her face."

"Brown hair? Long brown hair?"

"Yeah. Wanted to go to district 12, but I'm not sure why."

"District 12? Did she go there?"

"Beats me. And no, you can't stay here."

"Thanks anyway."

"Hey I didn't catch your name," said the cashier.

"Angel- I mean Alexandra. Alexandra Jackson."

Angeles knew she was no longer an immortal, and her psychic powers were wearing off, but a trace of it remained. She got the feeling that something important was about to happen.

She wandered out into the Capitol streets. She turned corners, this corner here, no, don't go that way. The psychic feeling was strong, and it wasn't just from her. She may not be an immortal, but she was still old. And you get to know the feeling, after a while, of people who are aged far beyond average. It was almost a metallic feeling, somehow.

She came to a house and knocked on the door.

A boy who looked about seventeen came and answered the door. The psychic inside of her went, Bing! And died. That was the end. It had worn off.

He had a small, golden tattoo on his wrist.

"A number eight?" asked Alexandra.

"Who are you?" asked the boy.

"Why do you have a number eight on your wrist?"

The boy pulled his wris back. "It's an infinity symbol."

"That ink…"

"Can you go away, please?"

"What is that ink made of?"

He looked into her eyes, and she met his stare. Then her gaze fel down to his neck.

"What's on your neck?" she asked.

A voice came from upstairs. "Who's at the door? Is it one of your friends from school?" A woman came running down the stars. "Please, come in," she said to Alexandra.

"She was just leaving," the boy said coldly.

"No, actually, I'd love to stay," said Alexandra. That ink was not normal… It was so bright…

She stepped through the door.

"I'll make some refreshments," she said, walking out of the room.

"What's around your neck?" she demanded.

"Nothing."

"Let me see it, she said, making a grab for it. He tried to pull away, but she had the reflexes of a huntress.

"It's god blood," she said.

"I don't know what it is," the boy mumbled.

"Where did you get this?"

"From my mother. My birthmother. I was adopted, so I never met her…"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Why do you have an infinity sign on your wrist?"

"No reason!"

Suddenly Alexandra recognized something. Something from a previous Hunger Games…

She had seen the boy before. On a Capitol television.

"Hunger Games victor number eight," she breathed.

"What?"

"You're him!" she proclaimed. "You're Katia's son!"

"No."

"Yes! You must be almost three hundred years old by now!"

The boy froze in shock. "You know."

"Did you lose it recently?"

"I did."

"It's because Katia did! I can't believe it! You're her son!"

"Katia is an immortal? You know her?"

"Not anymore. She was kcked out for having a son."

"Kicked out of what? I don't understand."

Alexandra started to tell the story. "Well, you've heard about the Greeks…"

111

Katniss was on a train headed for district 12. Her sister! She was probably dead! Prim. Oh, gods, her mother…

Katniss shook herself. You thought gods. You're not a Huntress of Artemis. Get a hold on yourself.

And yet…

She could still read the future. And she felt something in the future, an enormous looming hulk of an event… A horrible event…

A dangerous event. She had to save her family. It was probably too late for Prim. But her mother, and Gale and his family. They needed saving.

111

Miles away, but not so far from the twelfth district, district 13 prepared to launch a bomb. Light the spark and fire will catch.

Two days until it was launched…

111

Farther away, thousands of lightyears away in a different sort of meaurement of distanc, the gos were talking.

They saw the bomb about to be released. And they didn't like it.

"We shouldn't have saved this world," said Athena. "We shoud have let it go into decline, and let it die naturally. They're too advanced! They're too cruel! Things will never go back to how they were!"

"Are you saying we should kill them off?" asked Zeus.

"We don't need to. They'll kill themselves off."


	15. Chapter 15

_I'm sorry. This is a terrible ending._

**Chapter Fifteen**

It could have been District 12. It could have been district 13. It could have been the real world, oh so many years ago, the world of New York and California and the pyramids of Giza, but it wasn't. It was the fanciful, mystical fairyland that was the Capitol.

And it burned. It burned well. You could do well with fire, log burning and metaphors of rebellion and such, but what fire really was was heat. Heat burned. Heat hurt. And it shone brightly, proudly, not at all ashamed at its murders. Much like the Capitol itself had been.

People ran, screaming, through the villages and towns as nuclear bombs rained from the sky. And the funny thing was, only one bomb had been sent. One warning bomb on the president's mansion. How could you send one bomb and bomb with many? You could call it a miracle, but miracles are wonderful, beautiful, shiny, and, above all, helpful. This was in no way a miracle. The best you can call it is an act of God.

Through the panic, the Capitol fought back. They sent planes to bomb district 13. This was not a war between the Capitol and the districts. This was a war between the Capitol and The District.

It hurt her eyes and throat, to stand in a burning house. And yet, she was not afraid. Because she was finally being sent home.

"After all these years," muttered Alexandra.

She vaguely felt herself being dragged out of a fire. She was lying in the middle of the street, screaming people all around her.

She opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" asked the boy above her.

"Andrew?" she asked.

He nodded. Alexandra had half expected him to supply his real name. Perhaps he didn't have one.

"Are you okay?" she mumbled.

"Kind of burned, but it's okay. I've lived through worse."

"You were different then. So was I."

"The world is ending. This is it, then. Is there anywhere else to run to?"

"Stop being so melodramatic."

"You're the one on the ground."

A building behind him caught fire, and some people screamed.

"There are places that Panem isn't," mumbled Alexandra. She shut her eyes.

"Alex! Don't die on me!" he shook her gently.

"I don't mind," she said with her mouth half closed.

"I do! Come on!" he slung her over her shoulders and ran through the crowd.

He was aware of her complaining as he ran, but at least that meant she was still alive. He got tired and started to walk. Where to go? To the districts, possibly up into the wild north?

"I could really do with some divine intervention right now," he said.

"Katniss," mumbled Alexandra.

"Katniss Everdeen? Where is she?"

"Possibly in 12. Can we catch a train?"

"Catch a train? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe hijack a helicopter?"

He looked towards the sky. There were helicopters. One was hit by a bomb and came to the ground in flames.

_Meanwhile, the gods watched. _

"_We could have done it quickly."_

"_No. They deserve it."_

"_Couldn't we have gone with a plague?"_

"_That takes too long."_

"We could never hijack one," he said.

"Has anybody you know got a helicopter?"

"Well, there was this family in two who actually owned a helicopter, very wealthy, practically Capitol-"

"Perfect. Let's go. And take me off your back."

"Sorry."

Alexandra lowered herself to the ground and brushed herself off as though some dust had gotten on her clothes. Andrew half expected her to say something like, Oh, blood comes right out with the right mixture of soap and baking powder! No worries!

"All right, you point the way," she commanded. He led and they began to walk. Andrew noticed Alexandra walking with a limp.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," said Alexandra.

"That was a long time ago. The man who owned it probably died already."

"Did he have any heirs?"

"No, I was the only person who lived with him."

"No relatives to leave it to?"

"Nobody younger than himself."

"So, you were the only person who he knew and was close to. Who do you think he included in his will?"

"Wait… Are you saying he might have let it to me?"

"Yes."

"But I can't just go in there and claim it!"

"Seeing is believing! You go up there and say, 'I'm… whatever you called yourself…"

"Erin Tell."

"Really? So, you say, 'I'm Erin Tell! Could I please read the last will and testament of… uh…"

"Jonathon Tell."

"Jonathon Tell, and I believe he left me something.' Then they'll look at you and believe it. Their brains will fill in all the details for them."

"But I'm probably dead! Long dead, ix feet under!"

"Naw. You can't be dead if you're standing right there in front of them!"

"But how do you explain that I'm still seventeen?"

"You're not seventeen."

"I look like I am."

"It's a long walk to district two," said Alexandra. "Can we hail a cab?"

"What? I didn't understand that sentence. There's a bus to ride."

"Where?"

"Bus stops over here."

Despite the mayhem in the Capitol, the bus stopped at the bus stop. Alexandra and Erin climbed on.

"You got a real name, Erin?" asked Alexandra.

"Nope."

"Cool."

They rode in silence.

"_Are they in love?" asked Aphrodite._

"_Aphrodite," said Athena. "The human race is rapidly declining. Get over it."_

Katniss Everdeen walked off the train with a camera around her neck. She was a reporter.

She went to the Everdeens' house and knocked on the door.

Her mother answered.

"I'm sorry, we don't want to talk to any- Katniss?" she did a double take, then leapt up and threw her arms around her daughter. "Oh my god, I missed you so much."

"Mom," she said. "Is Prim…" she trailed off.

"She's in the kitchen," said her mother.

Katniss froze. "She won?"

"No. Madge volunteered for her."

"No! Madge!"

"Madge won. The Capitol is trying to revive her."

"The Capitol?"

There was a knock at the door. Katniss opened it.

It was Artemis. "Katniss! We must go, now! Take your family with you, please!"

"What?" asked Katniss, bewildered.

"Katniss! Just come!"

"Mom, go get Prim," said Katniss to her mother.

Katniss's mother rushed away to find Prim.

"Katniss," said Artemis. "Your world is ending. Will you rejoin the huntresses to save yourself and your family?"

"Of course, but where will we go if the world is ending?"

"We have places."

Katniss looked outside to find a previously nonexistent train sitting there. Suddenly two people came running towards her, but stopped when they saw the train.

"That's Angeles!" said Katniss. "And that boy. Is he related to Katia? He looks like her."

"He is her son," said Artemis.

They eventually saw Artemis and her squadron and approached slowly and carefully, like approaching a tyrannosaurus rex.

They arrived at the door.

"We will all go." Said Artemis. "Angeles and your Katia's son, too."

"Katia?" asked Erin.

"You will never see her," said Artemis. "Get over it."

Katniss's mom came out with Prim. They ran towards the train.

Once they were inside, Katniss looked out the window and saw darkness. Was it the night? Then she saw the planet Earth.

"We're in space."

"Of course."

"I can see the destruction."

The planet looked terrible. Brown and bombed over. While Katniss was watching, a grey cloud suddenly spread over the Earth's surface.

"What is that?" she asked.

"The dead are being released from the underworld."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere else. A place where your kind are still picking their noses and eating it for dinner, and stick figures on cave wall are considered great art."

"Another world?"

"Another planet. Right now it's just a random lump of rock with bacteria growing on it. A very big lump of rock, and very intelligent bacteria, but it's still a lump of rock no matter what you try to call it."

"How can you just leave the human race like that?"

"We should have done so when you people had almost died out. You have to let a planet run its natural cycle, and we didn't. That's why we had to terminate the dominant race. We normally don't grow so attached."

"Terminate? Wait, normally? You've done this before?"

"Where do you think all those strange creatures come from? The satyrs and such?"

"But is this always how it plays out? There isn't ever a happily ever after? It's always blood and tears and death and pain?"

"I'm afraid so."

"And you just watch! Why?" Even as she asked this, Katniss knew the answer. The gods were the Gamemakers, and the humans had been the tributes. Country on country, maybe, but a Hunger Games nonetheless. And then, when the Hunger Games had almost been over, there was no victor, and the gods just had to intervene. You can't have a Hunger Games without a victor.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Don't you have lives?"

"An immortal life is hardly a life at all, Miss Everdeen."

Katniss sighed. "It could have gone differently," she said quietly.

"It could have, but it didn't. Such is the way of the universe."

Katniss wanted to protest, but she knew Artemis was right. The universe was full of tributes. Sometimes you just had to accept that you were a tribute and not a Gamemaker, and that you actually were a piece in their games.

_Katia watched the army of the dead come forth from the ocean. A dark cloud was rising in the sky. They looked confused, in need of a leader. Katia stood on a rock and started to speak._

"_Listen to me!" she shouted. "Your world has ended! You have been released from the Underworld!"_

_They were intrigued. A living voice among the dead was louder than a ticking bomb in a steel room._

"_The living era has come and gone," she continued. "And there is room for a new civilization! A civilization without gods! A civilization without necessity, with no war, no plague! The civilization of the dead will never die!"_

_The dead cheered, a sound hardly audible above a whisper._

"_We should start," said Katia, "By building something! Go get some rocks!"_

_The dead began to organize themselves. Some were sent to get rock, others to hunt food and water. Katia was made queen, and remained queen even after death. Slowly, over thousands of years, old inventions were recreated, and new ideas were on the rise. The world was slowly patched up._

_And then, one day, a strange craft fell from the sky._

_A ghost boy found it and immediately contacted Katia the Queen._

_She prodded it, and some people came out. _

"_Greetings!" one said._

"_You are gods," said Katia._

"_Yes! We claim this planet!"_

"_We used to have gods. They abandoned us."_

"_We will not abandon you! With us, your civilization will last forever!"_

"_No, it won't. We won't be bothered by the odd lightning bolt, and will not burn our stuff for some useless arrogant deity, so if you could please get in your ship and leave immediately."_

"_We are gods! We will not be spoken to in this manner!"_

"_Leave. Now."_

_The gods turned around and climbed back into their vehicle. It made a low rumbling sound and was gone._

"_Katia," said the ghost boy. "There are other gods. There are other worlds."_

"_Yes, but we don't need them. Gods only get in the way."_

"_But they're gods!"_

"_Our civilization will last forever with peace and hard work. Not through worshipping useless things."_

_The boy left to tell his family of the day's events. Katia sat back. Despite the sunshine, a chill ran across her back. She knew this world couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, somebody would figure out how to kill a dead man, and there would be war, and there would be Hunger Games, and worst of all, there would be a decline. A slow gentle decline. Yes, eventually this race would die, for real. Because nothing lasts forever. Not even the gods._


End file.
